Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday, Jan. 19, called on parents to “take advantage” of the abundant supply of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines and get their children vaccinated against the deadly disease.
“So, iyong mga bata po, iyong mga anak natin na (the children, our children who are) qualified magpabakuna, pabakunahan na po natin ngayong maraming (to get vaccinated, let’s get them vaccinated while there is still a lot of) supply,” she said in a Facebook live video.
Robredo is in her hometown of Magarao, Camarines Sur to oversee the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) Vaccine Express initiative there for the adult and pediatric populations.
“Kunin na natin iyong pagkakataon talagang magpabakuna kasi alam natin nakakasalba kahit tinatamaan pa din iyong iba, hindi nagiging (Let’s take the chance to get vaccinated because we know that it saves lives even though others still get infected, they don’t get) severe iyong symptoms,” she pointed out.
As she encouraged more people to get vaccinated because of the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant, Robredo said the jabs will also bring peace of mind because those infected will not get severe symptoms anymore.
Robredo’s second Vaccine Express in Magarao, held in partnership with Tarabangan Kontra COVID-19, will target the adult population for their first dose, second dose, and booster shot, and the pediatric population or children for their second dose.
READ: Robredo focuses on COVID response services; 2022 poll campaign takes backseat
Her daughter, Tricia, who is a doctor, was in the monitoring room to volunteer for the initiative.
The country is currently vaccinating individuals as young as 12 years old, but the Department of Health (DOH) has announced that it will soon start inoculating minors five years old and up after getting approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“So far, tinatanong ko ‘yung mga bata dito okay naman sila (I’m asking the kids here and they are okay),” she said.
The Vaccine Express started at the Magarao Central School at 8 a.m and will run until 3:30 p.m. Adults and the minors are to be vaccinated in the Open Pavilion Campus A and in the new school building, respectively.
The vaccination site will accept walk-ins.
In a separate post, Robredo thanked the local government unit of Magarao and Rep. Gabby Bordado and Tarabangan Kontra COVID-19.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, the Philippines recorded 28,471 new cases with a 43.4 percent positivity rate. The country is grappling with another surge of COVID-19 infections fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which is now the dominant strain in the country.